Greg Henshaw, 35, has been fined £2,416 after being caught by an Environment Agency bailiff for multiple fishing offences, including obstructing a fishery bailiff and using an illegal bait at Ripple on the River Severn in Tewkesbury.

Henshaw was found guilty by Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court on Friday 12 January for 5 offences; using an unlicensed rod and line, failing to state his name and address when asked by a Water Bailiff, fishing for fresh water in the closed season, wilfully obstructing an officer on duty and illegally using hook and bait during the prohibited close season.

Henshaw, of Wychwood Crescent in Birmingham did not appear in court. In his absence magistrates found him guilty of all charges. For each charge he was given a fine of £440, totalling £2,200, and Henshaw was also ordered to pay £172.61 and a victim surcharge of £44.00

Andrew Eardley of the Environment Agency said: "This penalty for 1 angler is amongst the highest I’ve ever seen, and it’s good to see that the courts take instances of obstruction against enforcement officers seriously and that offenders are prosecuted."

An annual fishing licence costs just £30, yet a small number of anglers continue to flout the law and risk prosecution for fishing without a licence. Fishing licence money is invested into England’s fisheries and rivers; improving the sport of angling. So it’s fellow anglers that being cheated by those who choose to fish without a licence.

Environment Agency officers are checking licences regularly throughout the year. A licence costs just £30.00 and now lasts for 12 months from the day you buy it.

Money from fishing licence sales is invested in England’s fisheries and is used to fund a wide range of projects to improve facilities for anglers including protecting stocks from illegal fishing, pollution and disease, restoring fish stocks through re-stocking, eradicating invasive species, and fish habitat improvements. Fishing licence money is also used to fund the Angling Trust to provide information about fishing, to encourage participation in the sport and to manage a voluntary bailiff scheme.

Children under 12 fish for free. Anyone aged 12 to 16 also fish for free, but do need to have a valid Environment Agency fishing licence. Anyone over 16 must pay for an Environment Agency fishing licence to fish for salmon, trout, freshwater fish, smelt or eel in England.

​Anyone witnessing illegal fishing incidents in progress can report it directly to the Environment Agency hotline, 0800 80 70 60. Information on illegal fishing and environmental crime can also be reported anonymously to Crime stoppers on 0800 555 111.

Matchroom Sport and Sky Sports are delighted to announce a new seven-year broadcast deal that will continue Sky’s coverage of Matchroom Sport events into a fourth decade.

Running until 2025, Sky customers will be able to watch a multitude of major events across eight different sports and comes alongside the continuation of Sky Sports’ broadcast agreement with the PDC, which will see 60 days of live darts broadcast on Sky each year.

The agreement includes continued exclusive live coverage of major fixtures of the annual sporting calendar including pool’s Mosconi Cup, Fish‘O’Mania and tenpin bowling’s Weber Cup.

The agreement also covers the World Cup of Pool, World Pool Masters, PGA EuroPro Tour golf highlights, the World Championship of Ping Pong plus events in British netball, basketball and gymnastics.

Matchroom Sport Chairman Barry Hearn added: “We’re absolutely delighted that we have been able to extend our relationship with Sky Sports for a further seven years. The support of Sky Sports has been fundamental to the success of Matchroom’s biggest events and it is great news for sports fans that coverage of Matchroom Multi Sport events and the PGA EuroPro Tour will continue well into the next decade.”​Matchroom Sport are the world-renowned sports promotional company behind PDC darts, World Snooker and a wide stable of boxing talent including World champions such as Anthony Joshua, Tony Bellew and Kell Brook. The company has over 30 years of experience in sports promotion and currently operates across 11 sports.

Matchroom Multi Sport are delighted to announce that Fish‘O’Mania XXV will take place at Hayfield Lakes in Doncaster on Saturday, July 14 2018.

The annual ‘FA Cup of Fishing’ was staged at Hayfield Lakes on 11 consecutive occasions from 1997 and will return to the Yorkshire venue this summer with a field of 24 anglers, comprising 22 UK qualifiers and two international qualifiers.

​Fish‘O’Mania will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2018 with anglers once again competing for the £50,000 winner’s cheque on the Island Lake at Hayfield. The Ladies and Junior tournaments will also be staged on Saturday, July 14 at Hayfield Lakes.

Matchroom Sport Chairman Barry Hearn said: “We are thrilled that Fish‘O’Mania will return to Hayfield Lakes in 2018. Fish‘O’Mania is 25 this year and along with the team at Hayfield Lakes and our colleagues at Sky Sports we’re determined to make this the best Fish‘O’ yet. Any match angler out there can enter the qualifiers and win through for a chance of landing the £50,000 first prize at the Grand Final in July. Fish‘O’Mania is one of the highlights of the summer and I’m excited to see who will peg it up at Hayfield Lakes in the simmer. Good luck to all of those entering the qualifying matches, we hope to see you competing at Hayfield in July.”

Robin Gorforth, Chief Executive of Hayfield Lakes said: “Maver-Dynamite Hayfield Lakes are delighted to welcome home the FA Cup of Angling, on its 25th anniversary. It’s been 11 years since Hayfield Lakes hosted the Fish‘O’Mania Grand Final and we’ve really missed this prestigious event and we look forward to working with Matchroom Multi Sport on bringing FishO back to Hayfield.We will work tirelessly to create an unmissable live event for the participating anglers, spectators in attendance and viewers live on Sky Sports.”

Competitions Development Manager James Lewis added: “It’s great to see the continued evolution of Fish‘O’Mania and with the return to Hayfield as the final venue, there’s sure to be an awesome competition for all the finalists. We’ve listened to the feedback from anglers last year and have made several changes to qualifier dates, locations and pegging in order to make the matches as fair and competitive as possible."

Details of the 22 UK qualifying matches will be released shortly. Spectator entry will be free of charge for the Grand Final at Hayfield Lakes, with tickets for free admission to be available from spring 2018 at www.fishomania.net. A car parking charge of £5 per vehicle will apply.

Eleven men were found guilty for fishing without a license at pools across the West Midlands during July and August last year.

On December 21, Northampton Magistrates’ Court heard how the anglers were caught fishing illegally at pools in Bulkington, Worcester, Market Bosworth and Earlswood. The court issued combined fines of £7,113.

The fisherman were given higher than average fines with the highest total fine of £853 given to an angler from Redditch for fishing illegally at Weston Lawns in Bulkington. This is over 28 times more expensive than an annual £30 licence.All the anglers were caught fishing without a rod licence by Environment Agency officers out on regular patrol.

None of the accused appeared in court, so all were found guilty in their absence.

Andrew Eardley of the Environment Agency said: “We’re continuing to see anglers receive significant fines for fishing illegally which is why I can’t understand the reasons some anglers continue to flout the law and risk prosecution for fishing without a licence.

“A licence costs just £30 and now lasts for 12 months from the day you buy it. Most anglers fish legally and are happy to have their licence checked, the minority that fail to buy a fishing licence are cheating their fellow anglers and the future of the sport.Fishing licence cheats risk a criminal conviction, a significant fine and could lose their fishing equipment.With most anglers fishing legally it seems ridiculous the minority still risk a significant fine like these we’ve seen here.”

Money from fishing licence sales is invested in England’s fisheries and is used to fund a wide range of projects to improve facilities for anglers including protecting stocks from illegal fishing, pollution and disease, restoring fish stocks through re-stocking, eradicating invasive species, and fish habitat improvements.

Fishing licence money is also used to fund the Angling Trust to provide information about fishing, to encourage participation in the sport and to manage a voluntary bailiff scheme.Children under 12 fish for free. Anyone aged 12 to 16 also fish for free, but do need to have a valid Environment Agency fishing licence. Anyone over 16 must pay for an Environment Agency fishing licence to fish for salmon, trout, freshwater fish, smelt or eel in England.

Anyone witnessing illegal fishing incidents in progress can report it directly to the Environment Agency hotline on 0800 80 70 60. Information on illegal fishing and environmental crime can also be reported anonymously to Crime stoppers on 0800 555 111.

Pools are £30.00 per match which includes £10.00 from each qualifier going to the final. £2.00 peg fees for all matches. £18.00 left from all matches to be paid out in the qualifiers.

The 20 top weights from each qualifier go through to the 80-peg two day final. You can fish as many qualifiers as you wish even if you have already qualified for the final. For further information and to book in, contact Paul Turner Tel: 07921 565107. All welcome!